Dead Man's Pond - Cottage Grove, Minnesota

In quiet little Hamlet Park of Cottage Grove, Minnesota, a tragedy would occur years ago that still ripples through to this day.  Many believe that a small, swampy pond located in the park is haunted and just waiting to claim the life of its next victim.  The algae covered pond is very shallow, but the underlying mud goes very deep.

There are lots of swampy algae covered ponds all over.  Some of them hold more dark secrets than others like the one in Hamlet Park of Cottage Grove, Minnesota.

It began back in the 1950s when a little boy and his friends were at the park.  The boy wandered into the wooded area where the pond was located.  He was chasing a frog around to amuse himself.  The frog hopped into the water and he decided to wade in after it.  However, when the boy realized he was too far and attempted to turn around, he started sinking into the mud.  The harder he fought, the deeper he sank. His friends came looking for him as he began to yell for help.  Just as they arrived, he screamed that something had a hold of his leg and he was pulled under, never to be seen again.

Stories say the pond has claimed the lives of others who have attempted to go into it. So it earned the name "Dead Man's Pond".  No one ever dared go near the pond after that.  However, there is always one in the crowd. In more recent years, another man who had been at the pond went missing.  After searching the park for him, they decided to drain the pond and search for his body.  When the pond was emptied, nothing was found but a little boy's shoe.

Dead Man's Pond at Hamlet Park in Cottage Grove, Minnesota shown here only half full of water.

Location:
Latitude  44.822586  Longitude  -92.957200

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